Dental Care
by 15Acesplz
Summary: How long can one person bury their feelings? Connor McKinley has been doing it for years, almost flawlessly managing to be what he's supposed to be. But no one's perfect, the feelings and the flaws are still there, and it only takes one person to drag them up to the surface. McPriceley, rated T because of implied sex and other stuff.
1. Chapter 1

**My friend really liked this story, so I thought other people might too! Here we go!**

"Caden McKinley?"

Connor looked up. "Oh, that's us!" He picked Caden up and followed the dental assistant out of the waiting room.

"Please wait here, Dr. Price will be in soon." She left.

Connor set Caden down on the dentist chair, and he immediately scanned the white room nervously. "Daddy," He said suddenly. "What's that?" He pointed his chubby finger at the dentist's pick.

"It's only a long metal toothpick, sweetie." Connor said soothingly. Caden looked doubtful.

Just then, the dentist came in, and Connor's mouth fell open a little.

Dr. Price was the most handsome man he had ever seen. His hair was perfect, his brown eyes were gorgeous, and his teeth were blindingly white (they would be, if he was a dentist). Dr. Beautiful had started talking now, still wearing a 100-watt smile. "You must be Mr. McKinley. Oh, and this little guy must be Caden!"

Connor barely registered his words. Then his adorable three year old boy burst into tears.

Connor frantically looked back and forth between the dentist and his crying kid. What was Dr. Price going to think? He rushed over to where Caden sat. "Oh, no, honey, shh, shh…" He hastily tried to amend the situation.

"I-I'm sca-ared!" He wailed.

"But why, Cade? There's nothing to be scared of!"

Caden clung to him, still sobbing. "He-he's scary and he's gonna take my teef!"

"What? No, sweetie, I promise he isn't." He looked at Dr. Price helplessly. "I am so sorry…"

The dentist held his hands out. "No, it's fine, happens all the time." He opened a cupboard and pulled out a sheet of shiny stickers, then crouched down to the toddler's eye level. "Do you want to see my stickers, Caden?"

Caden was only sniffling and whimpering now, but he didn't make any sign of hearing Dr. Price – if anything, he held onto Connor's shirt tighter. Connor nudged him a little, speaking softly. "Look, Cade, he has stickers."

Still nothing. Dr. Price took the lead. "Mr. McKinley, do _you_ want to see my stickers?" He encouragingly gestured for Connor to join him. When Connor had let go of Caden and crawled across the floor he started talking about the stickers in a pointedly loud voice. "See, they're dinosaur stickers. The dinosaurs were all really big, bigger than cars."

"Um… Wow, cool!" Connor played along, admittedly feeling a bit silly.

"This one is called a pterodactyl." He pointed to the sticker. "They could fly. Do you want this sticker, Mr. McKinley?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes, I really would like that sticker."

"Okay, then it's yours." He tore off the perforated edge and gave Connor the sticker. "Put it on your shirt." He whispered.

Connor obliged. Caden was watching them with some interest.

"Now when people ask you about your sticker, you can tell them that it's a pterodactyl, and they could fly."

Caden inched over to where they were sitting on the floor, eyeing the stickers.

Dr. Price didn't pay any attention to him so he wouldn't get scared again. "And this one is a brachiosaurus. They were one of the tallest dinosaurs, and they ate leaves."

Caden sat down on Connor's lap, and the dentist finally looked over at him.

"Do you want this sticker, Caden?"

Caden nodded, and Dr. Price pulled off the sticker.

"Your daddy can hold it, then when we're done with the checkup you can put it on your shirt."

Caden's eyebrows crinkled, apprehension clear on his face. But apparently, the prospect of stickers was too good to resist. "…'kay."

All through the appointment, the dentist talked about dinosaurs to keep Caden distracted. When they were done Caden smiled shyly at him and started to play with his sticker, making growly noises and talking to himself.

Dr. Price took the opportunity to pull Connor to the side. "Mr. McKinley, is this Caden's first dental exam?" He asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, usually we recommend that kids start seeing a dentist at a year old. And Caden has a few small cavities."

Connor put his hand over his mouth. "Oh my gosh, I had no idea!" He felt really stupid, especially in front of this attractive doctor. "We brush his teeth…"

"Well, you're going to have to bring him back in to get the cavities filled."

Another excuse to see this guy? Connor was all for it.

It was much sooner than Connor had anticipated that he had to go back to the dentist's office.

He had just finished teaching his Saturday morning dance class, and he realized, looking at his calendar, that the date they had picked for Caden to get his fillings wasn't going to work out. He had time, so he went down to the dentist's to figure everything out.

The receptionist informed him when he arrived that Dr. Price wasn't busy, so he went straight back to see him. The dentist was doing something on his computer when Connor went in. He looked up and stood, automatically smiling. Connor's chest fluttered a little. "Mr. McKinley! I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Yeah, me neither. But I actually realized that we can't come in at 3. Do you have any other times?"

Dr. Price pulled up a calendar on the computer. "I can do 3 the next day, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's great, thanks!"

"Anytime."

Connor didn't really want to leave. He fumbled for something to say. "Um… how long have you lived here?"

"Oh, a few years now. Ever since I got out of college."

"Where did you go to school?"

"I was at BYU for my undergrad, then I did my graduate work at Mount Sinai School of Medicine."

"Wait, you're Mormon? That's crazy, I'm Mormon!"

"Really? Oh, that's so cool!"

"I can't believe I haven't seen you around. Which temple do you go to?"

Dr. Price's face looked a little pink. "Well, I don't usually… I mean – I have to work a lot, so…"

"Um, okay. Where were you for your mission?"

Just like that, they were chatting like old friends. The longer they talked, the more Connor liked him, and the more he shot longing glances at those adorably pouty lips. There was a lull in the conversation, as Connor stared and Dr. Price simply looked at him, confusion on his face. Then, without even thinking first, Connor stepped forward and kissed his kid's dentist.

Dr. Price's eyes were wide. Connor was just as shocked at his own actions. He turned pale and stuttered out an apology before he quickly turned and rushed out.

What on earth had he been _thinking_? He was _married_! He hadn't spent years working to conquer his emotions for it all to go down the drain over a pediatric dentist. Especially not now, when he had a ring on his finger and a three year old son at home. How was he ever going to go back there? He couldn't face Dr. Price again after that.

He probably hated Connor anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

At dinner that night Connor tried to beg off the dentist's appointment.

"What do you mean, you can't take him? I thought you already rescheduled the appointment once." Connor's wife, Monica, looked at him sharply.

"Something came up, and- and the dentist isn't free any other time." Connor lied.

"Well, you're going to have to work it out, because I can't go. I have a meeting."

Connor slumped a little in his chair. "I guess I can cancel my plans…" He said weakly.

So, the next Thursday, Connor and Caden were back at the dentist, and – no huge surprise – Caden was crying again.

He had started screaming when he first saw the hypodermic needle full of Novocain. "He's gonna poison me!" He shrieked, tears running down his face as he kicked his legs so the dentist couldn't get near him.

Dr. Price carefully set down the needle. "Caden, I promise I would never do that to you." He said slowly.

Connor desperately tried to get Caden to stop kicking, to no avail. "I really am sorry; I don't know where he gets these ideas…"

Dr. Price smiled at him. "Believe me, it's not the strangest accusation I've heard. Caden," He raised his voice a little to be heard over the sobbing. "Did you know that I have some outer space stickers, too?"

Somehow they made it through the whole procedure, despite several more incidents, including when Caden started to cry again after they managed to give him the Novocain shot, insisting that his face had fallen off. By the end, all the crying had exhausted him, and he took the offered sticker very halfheartedly.

Connor had picked Caden up and was about to leave when Dr. Price said, "Oh, wait, Mr. McKinley! Don't you want a sticker, too?"

Connor took the sticker, a bit confused.

It was only when he got home that he realized a phone number had been written on the back.

It was a full month before Connor worked up the nerve to call the number. He had nearly thrown the sticker away, but couldn't make himself do it. For weeks it sat in his dresser drawer, looming over him.

Eventually, though, his curiosity got the better of him. He held his breath while the phone rang. Caden was napping; Connor knew he'd have time.

The phone clicked. "Hello?"

Connor's mind rushed to think of the right thing to say. Rather than any polite greeting, he ended up blurting out, "Why did you give me your number?"

Dr. Price laughed softly, then reverted to a thoughtful silence. When he spoke his voice was serious. "I guess… It seemed like you had some… stuff on your mind, and uh, I thought you might want to talk to a… kindred soul."

Connor took a minute to puzzle out that cryptic response. "…Oh."

Another silence fell until Dr. Price broke it. "Mr. McKinley – "

"Connor." The word flew out before he could stop it.

"What?"

"If you want… you could, uh… call me Connor." He said quietly.

"Okay, then. Um, Connor:" He hesitated. "What do you think God thinks of homosexuality?"

"Well, it's a sin, isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant. How do you think Heavenly Father Himself would feel if, say, you were gay?"

Connor almost said, 'I'm not gay', but he knew it would be useless to try to pretend. "I think… I think He would hate me."

"Well, I don't." Dr. Price said forcefully. "God doesn't make mistakes, so why would you be gay if He didn't choose it?" There was a fire in his voice.

"I-"

"The reason I don't go to church is because they don't accept me there, Connor." He went on. "I mean, I like women, but I like men just as much, and they _do_ hate me for it. But that doesn't mean He does." He took a deep breath. "Sorry. I just… wanted to get that out."

"…When did you first know?" Connor surprised himself by asking.

"Undergrad. Senior year. Then a guy I was with… I guess he felt guilty, because he took it out on me and ratted me out to the dean. I'm lucky they let me graduate, really."

Connor took the cue to share his experience. "I knew before I even started middle school. Then I made the mistake of telling my parents. They send me to therapy, and years later, here I am. Cured." He laughed bitterly.

"…Why did you get married?"

Connor didn't answer.

"…Sorry."

He sighed. "No, it's fine. I just… What else was I supposed to do? It's what they wanted. It's what He wants."

"Really? Do you really think He would want you to be unhappy?"

"I am happy, Dr. Price. I have Caden."

"Call me Kevin."

At some point, the occasion phone call turned into a pattern of two hour conversations a few times a week. Kevin and Connor got to know each other fairly quickly at this rate, and Connor felt himself falling hard and fast for Kevin. He kept telling himself that there wasn't anything like that between them. They were only friends. Two Mormons who understood each other.

Then, there was a break in the pattern that gave an entirely different impression.

Connor was checking his phone after his last Saturday night class. Text from Monica, Facebook notification from the temple, missed called from Dr. Price –

That was unexpected. Kevin never called on the weekends. He called back as he walked out to his car. "Hey, what's up?"

He heard nothing but breathing for a moment. At last Kevin said, "Do you want to come over?"

Connor arrived at Kevin's house – his apartment, actually – fifteen minutes later. He was a little nervous, and a little puzzled. What did Kevin want him here for? Once Kevin invited him in, it was the first thing he asked.

Kevin shrugged, examining his hand like he had never seen it before. "I haven't seen you since I filled Caden's cavities… and… I also wanted to repay that favor."

"Favor? What-"

Kevin cut him off with a kiss. Connor responded without a second thought. It seemed as if this had been waiting to happen, an inevitable result. It felt natural and right, nothing like any experience Connor had had with Monica. At that notion a twinge of guilt passed through his mind, but it disappeared when Kevin's hand slid down to his backside.

Soon enough they had fumbled their way over to the couch, with Kevin on top of Connor. When Kevin slipped his hand under Connor's shirt, Connor forced himself to pull away. "I… I'm supposed to be home…" He stuttered, shame washing over him.

Kevin straightened up, smoothing his hair anxiously. He didn't meet Connor's eye. "Right."

"So, um… see you."

Kevin nodded, staring at the floor until Connor left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay get ready for the sads**

It was something they never actually talked about. They still talked on the phone, but never about what happened on Saturday nights. Though it was definitely a new pattern, it was constantly changing, getting more impassioned with each encounter, until Connor somehow found himself on his knees while Kevin tugged on his hair and moaned his name.

He had been expecting this to be like any other time: whatever happened would happen, and when it was done, he'd leave, nothing said. This time was different, very different. Before he could leave Kevin turned him around and kissed him, gently and softly, certainly not their usual kind of kiss. The first words out of his mouth after the kiss were, "I love you, Connor."

Connor panicked. He opened his mouth, then closed it, not trusting himself to say what he had wanted to say. "I have to go."

A week passed, and then another. Connor didn't see or talk to Kevin at all. He got countless phone calls and messages, but he ignored them. When he could he turned his phone off.

It wasn't that he didn't feel the same way Kevin did. He definitely felt that way. He had been seconds from saying 'I love you, too' and meaning it with his whole heart.

It terrified him.

He barely lasted those two weeks, and by the third one he couldn't take it anymore. Come Saturday night he was at Kevin's door, regretting everything and nothing.

The door flew open. "Connor!" Kevin sounded delighted.

Connor stared at his shoes. "I'm sorry. You… you mean so much to me… and it scares me." His voice felt rough. "I-I'm scared, Kevin." He looked up, and saw understanding on Kevin's face.

"I know."

Then Kevin kissed him, and none of the fear mattered anymore. Kevin was going to make everything better, with touches and kisses and words of love.

"So, how was your day?" Connor and Monica were eating dinner while Caden lay on the ground at their feet, color and making up a song as he scribbled.

"Long." Connor answered with a small sigh. "Caden woke up early from his nap."

"Well, maybe we can put him to bed early. Have some time alone." She shot him a meaningful smile.

Connor cleared his throat awkwardly. He'd had 'alone time' with Kevin three nights ago. "Yeah."

Caden crawled out from under the table. "Mommy, I drew a picture."

"That's great, sweetie!" Monica exclaimed. "Tell me what you drew here."

Caden proudly held up a paper covered in a mess of green scribbles. "It's Daddy on the phone wif his doctor friend." He said factually.

Monica's eyes darted up to meet Connor's gaze. "I didn't know Daddy had a doctor friend." She said carefully.

"Yup! They were on the phone today." Caden offered, his voice cheerful.

For a moment no one spoke. Monica stood up, throwing down her napkin. "Caden, Daddy and I are going to go and _talk_. You just wait here and draw some more, okay?"

Connor wordlessly followed Monica out to the living room. She stopped and turned, glaring at him. "You've been seeing other women, haven't you?"

"No! Well, not… exactly…"

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'? You're cheating on me with half a woman?"

"No-"

"Then who?"

"A man!" Connor took a deep breath. "I… I've been seeing a man…"

The shock was clear on Monica's face. Connor forged on.

"He's the dentist we brought Cade to… Dr. Kevin Price."

Monica spoke quietly. "You're gay."

"Um-"

"My husband is gay."

"…Yes."

Monica closed her eyes, her lips pressed together in a thin line. Then she said, "Get out."

"I- what?"

Her eyes snapped back open, full of fire. "You don't pay for this house. Get out."

Connor opened his mouth, then paused. What could he say? She was right. He nodded grimly. "Okay."

He threw together a couple of bags of stuff as swiftly as he could, mentally kicking himself the entire time.

The tension in the living room could be sliced with a knife. Caden had migrated there to play with a stuffed cat. Connor started to walk to him.

"What are you doing?"

He turned. Caden was watching them now. "I was just going to-"

"Did you hear me wrong? Get the hell out. Now." She spat.

"What, I can't say goodbye to my own son?" Connor felt his face getting red.

"Get. Out."

Connor couldn't take any more. He left, shutting the front door behind him.

Hot, angry tears sprung to his eyes as he got in the car. Caden was his _son_. And he was only three years old, for crying out loud! What he was going to think when his daddy wasn't there in the morning to make him breakfast? Connor hadn't even gotten a chance to explain.

Connor wasn't quite sure where he was going until he got there. He rang Kevin's doorbell, feeling miserable.

"Connor? What are you doing here?"

Connor dropped his bags and hugged Kevin tightly. If it couldn't be Caden at least it was him.

"Connor… what's wrong?"

Connor rested his head on Kevin's shoulder. "Monica… she found out. About us. She wouldn't let me say goodbye to Caden." He struggled to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"Oh… that's awful…" Kevin said softly. "I'm so sorry, Con."

"'S okay." He mumbled. "I'll be okay."

Kevin kissed him gently, first on the lips, and then his cheek, his nose, his forehead. He moved to Connor's jawline and his neck. His hands slid down to Connor's belt.

Connor sighed. "Don't."

Kevin pulled away. "What do you want to do, then?" He asked patiently.

"Can we just… lie down? I'm so tired."

Kevin nodded. "Okay." He led Connor to his bedroom and lay down, wrapping his arms around him.

"Thank you, Kevin." Connor said quietly.

"You know I'd do anything for you."

For the first time ever, Connor fell asleep in Kevin's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

**This one is a longer chapter, not to mention the last one, so... enjoy!**

Connor was nervous. Actually, nervous was an understatement. He was a basket case, pacing across the floor all morning until at last, it was time to leave.

He arrived at the courthouse exactly on time. A slew of people stood outside the room, including Monica. Connor tried not to let his nerves show. The doors to the courtroom opened and everyone filed in.

"Case being examined: McKinley v McKinley for the custody of Caden McKinley." The judge announced, reading off a paper. "Starting at 2:32 PM, September 11th, 2021."

"Mr. McKinley, you are Caden's primary caretaker, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a job?"

"Uh, yes. I work on the weekends."

"What do you do for work?"

"I teach dance classes."

"So, Monday through Friday, you spend your entire day taking care of your son?"

"Yes."

"No further questioning."

"Mr. McKinley, if you gained custody of Caden, would you be able to support him?"

"Absolutely!"

"You have a place for him to live?"

"Yes."

"Could you provide for him financially?"

"Well, yes, I do work."

"But I was given to understand that your ex-wife provided most of the money in your family. Would the amount you make really be enough?"

"Well, Caden started pre-K this month. I would be able to teach a lot more classes, with him at school."

"So, a few dance classes are going to pay for food, clothes, school supplies?"

"Well-"

"What about bills and taxes?"

"I-"

"Could you afford everything that your son needs?"

"Yes!"

"How?"

"I know someone who would be more than willing to help me if I need it."

"And who is this benefactor?"

"Objection! Relevance?"

"…No further questioning."

"Mrs. McKinley, why did you file a divorce?"

"He was cheating on me. With a _man_."

"Interesting. How did he meet this man?"

"Oh, that's a funny story. He took Caden for his first dentist appointment. Apparently, he only had eyes for the dentist."

"That's not true!"

"Mr. McKinley, please do not speak out of turn."

"…Sorry."

"How long was he seeing this… dentist?"

"Oh, for months. Almost a year. They talked on the phone, while our son was in the next room."

"No further questioning."  
\- - - - -

"The judge rules custody to-"

Connor held his breath.

"-Mrs. McKinley, with monthly visiting rights to Mr. McKinley."

Connor bowed his head so no one would see him cry.

Kevin got home around 5:30. "Connor! How did it go?"

Connor simply shook his head.

"…I'm sorry, Connor. I know this was important to you."

He gave a hollow laugh. "You have no idea how important this was to me."

"Did you get anything? Visiting rights?"

Connor wiped his eyes. "Yeah. Every month. He's coming this Friday. That's okay, right?"

"Of course."

Connor drove to Caden's school on Friday afternoon to pick him up. He scanned the endless sea of children for a minute before he heard a very familiar shriek.

"Daddy!"

He turned quickly. Caden was running towards him at full speed, his tiny backpack bouncing up and down. Connor beamed and picked Caden up, hugging him tightly. "Hey, Cade! I missed you!"

"Guess what, Daddy? Mommy says I get to stay wif you tonight!"

When Kevin got home, Caden was finishing dinner while Connor made dinner for Kevin and himself. Connor looked up from his cutting board and greeted Kevin with a warm smile and a kiss. "Caden, you remember Dr. Price, right? He fixed your teeth. Since we aren't at the dentist you can call him Kevin."

Caden suddenly turned shy, only uttering a soft "Hi…"

"Hey, Cade, me and Kevin are going to eat now, okay? How about you draw us something?"

By the end of their meal, Caden had produced his masterpiece: Two shapeless lumps with wobbly smiley faces in the center.

"Lovely!" Connor praised. "Who did you draw here?"

"Me and my friend Becky."

"Oh, is Becky nice?"

"Yup." Caden's eyebrows crinkled thoughtfully. "Mommy finks I'm in love wif Becky."

"But you're not?" Kevin questioned.

"No. We just play kickball togever."

"Just the two of you? Don't you need a lot of people to play that game?"

"No. I kick the ball, and then she runs and gets it and kicks the ball again."

Connor and Kevin shared a smile. "Sounds really fun."

"Wanna play?"

"Oh… I'm sorry, honey, I don't think Kevin has a ball."

"I got a ball!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yep! It's in my backpack!"

So they played kickball. Caden never seemed to tire of the game, and he gave Connor a good scare with a couple near misses of nearby, breakable items. After about an hour Kevin and Connor called it quits and convinced Caden to show them his picture book instead. At 7:30 Caden yawned, and Connor announced that it was bedtime.

As they got into bed with a sound asleep Caden a couple hours later, it occurred to Connor that he hadn't been quite so happy in a while.

When Connor woke up, his first thought was that the bed was a lot damper than a bed ought to be. He sat up, and, registering Caden's soaking wet pajama bottoms, immediately understood what had happened. "Oh, my gosh…" He mumbled, reaching over to nudge Kevin awake.

Kevin stirred. "Wha…?" He slowly realized the nature of the situation as well.

"Kevin, I am so, so sorry." Connor whispered hurriedly. "He usually wears a pull-up but he told me he didn't need it anymore…" He massaged his forehead. "I can't believe I trusted the judgement of a four year old. I'm really sorry." He repeated woefully.

"It's all right." Kevin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You clean him up, and I'll run down to the laundromat."

Caden had a mournful pout on his face as soon as he woke up, and minutes later he started crying a little, his emotions amplified by drowsiness. "I'm sorry…" He said with a sniffle as Connor stripped his sodden clothes off.

"It's fine, sweetie, no one's mad at you." Connor promised. "But I don't think you're ready to sleep without pull-ups yet." He wiped Caden's cheeks and smiled. "Hey, it's okay. No need to cry."

Kevin administered baking soda to the mattress, bundled up everything that needed washing, assured Caden that no, he wasn't mad either, and left for the laundromat.

"Okay, Cade." Connor lifted him up. "Time for a bath."

Once the bath had been taken, Kevin had returned, and breakfast had been served, Caden was in a considerably better mood, chattering away about anything and everything, only half of his monologue making sense. At some point he said, "Daddy, Mommy says you been bad."

Kevin raised his eyebrows, glancing over at Connor.

"She does?"

"Uh-huh. She says that's why you live here now." Caden looked thoughtful. "Have you been bad?"

"Um… I guess so, Caden. I was a little bad, and I feel really sorry."

"What'd you do?"

"I… I told some lies. You know you aren't supposed to lie, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Has anyone ever told you why?"

Caden shook his head.

"Well, here's why. When you lie to people you care about, you're lying to yourself. And that will never make you happy. You understand?"

"Mm… no." Caden answered candidly. Kevin laughed a little.

"That's okay. I can keep telling you until you do."

By the time Monica arrived to pick Caden up, his pajamas were clean and dry. Connor tried to smile politely at Monica while Caden enthusiastically talked about everything he had done. Monica gave him a forced smile in return, but it disappeared as soon as she saw Kevin behind him, her eyes glittering with hatred. She turned and quickly ushered Caden out.

"Sorry about that…" Connor sighed.

"It's okay, really. It was great having Caden here."

Connor laughed. "Oh, come on. After everything that happened? You're sweet, saying that."

"I'm serious." Kevin insisted. "It made me wish we had a kid to take care of all the time."

"Yeah…" Connor already missed Caden again.

Kevin reached out and took Connor's hands. "Would you want that?"

"Wait… what do you mean?"

"A kid. Our own kid."

"You mean, since it couldn't be Caden?"

"No! Not a replacement, not at all. An addition. I just thought… We'd be a family then, wouldn't we?" Kevin looked a bit sheepish.

The longer Connor thought about it, the more wonderful it sounded. He smiled. "Yeah. I guess we would."


End file.
